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At 107 years old, New Windsor native Anthony Mancinelli keeps putting in his 40 hours a week, and has been dubbed the “world’s oldest barber” by the Guinness Book of World Records, cutting hair from noon to 8 p.m. each day.
Mancinelli was first honored by Guinness World Records in 2007, when he was 96 years old. Since then, the commendations have continued annually.
According to the New York Times, Mancinelli “has a trim build, a steady hand and a full head of hair, albeit snow white. He spends much of his day on his feet, in a pair of worn, cracked leather black shoes.”
Mancinelli was born in Italy in 1911 and emigrated to Newburgh when he was 8 years old, living with a relative. He began working when he was 11 at an area barbershop and dropped out of high school and was cutting hair full-time by the time he was 12. When he started, a haircut was 25 cents. Now a trim costs his customers $19.
A World War II veteran and 75-year member of the American Legion Post 1796, Mancinelli has been a constant highlight and grand marshal of the New Windsor Memorial Day Parade. Though he keeps getting older, Mancinelli said that he won’t let time deter him.
“I advise a lot of people not to quit working,” Mancinelli told CBS. “Keep busy. Some retire too soon, and they get old fast.”
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